Of same



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet- 1.

V T. A. WEBER.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BARBEI) FENCE WIRE. No. 286,511.

Patented Oct. 9, 1883*.

l IQ IlllllllllIlllllllulllmmmlunmunumu n mmllf-r gasses 4N PETERS.Phowhxhogmpher. wnsningmn. D. C,

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

T. A. WEBER. y MACHINE POB, MAKINGBARBEDAFBNGB WIRE.

Patented Oct. 9, 1883.

- UNITED STATES PATENT 'rHEoDoRn A. WEBER, or NEW Yoan, n. Y., AssieuonTo JOHN L. CLARK, el? 'sans PLACE. y y

IMACH-Ime` Fos' MAKING BARBi-:D FENCE-wma.

SPECIFICATLN forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,511, dated October9., 1883.

Appnnmon med May 2G. lass. (No model.)

Be itknown that I', 'BH3-:onces A.. WEBERV ofthe city and county of .NewYork, in the State o f New York, have invented a new and ImprovedMachine for Making Barbed Fence- Wire, of vwhich the following is aspeci-fica-A tion.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine for making barbedfence-wire, such as forms the subject of my application for LettersPatent filed May 3, 1883, and of which the serial number is 93,746.- Thewire referred to consists of a longitudinal wire having formed in orVfrom. it at intervals pairs of eyes, the eyes of each pairbeingyopposte each other-that is, on oppositet'idesofthe line of thewireand barbs consisting of short wires, each inserted through the eyesof a pair, and having its sharpened. ends projecting beyond the eyes inopposite directions. This wire, provided with barbs,-niay. be employedalone for fencing; or

' it may be, and preferably is, twisted with another longitudinal wire,which prevents the wire having the pairsfr-om being strained to such anextent as to draw outor distort the eyes and displace the' barbs fromtheir position at right angles to the longitudinal wire. Iii-my machineis performed thewhole operation of forming the pairs of eyes, formingandsecuring-the barbs therein,and twisting the two-longitudinal wirestogether.

`The invention consists 1n novel features in the construction of theseveral parts of the machine, and in the ina-nner of combining the saidparts together to provide mechanism for feeding the Wire forward with astep-by-step movement, and for giving the proper dwell between suchmovements; for vforming the pairs of eyesin the longitudinal wire; forfeeding wire and cutting it off to the proper lengthto form barbs; forbending' such pieces of Wire into the form of staples, or giving them aU shape; for' inserting such staples or U-shaped pieces into the pairsof eyes, and spreading or bending outward the ends thereof which projectthrough and beyond the eyes, so that they will project in oppositedirections, and thereby be secured in the eyes; and, preferably, fortwisting the wire thus provided with barbs 4with a secondlongitudinalwire, as above mentioned.

'formed by the several op@ chine can be obtained from Fig. 3. I

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a machine embodying myinvention.

Figure lis a side elevation of the machine with a portion of one of thesideframes broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 3 is aview of a piece of wire with the pairs of eyes, in one pair of which abarb is secured. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a portion of themachine. Fig. 5 is a sectional eleyation of a part of the machine. Fig.6 is aview of many of thcparts of Fig. 5, showing them in differentpositions. Fig. 7 is a view at right angles to Figs. 5 and 6, showing aportion of the dies whereby the barbs are bent into U shape. Figs. 8 and9 are pian views of parts of the mechanism fer forming the pairs of eyesand securing the barbs therein, the part-s being shown in differentpositions in the views; and Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of a partof the mechanism for forming the eyes, showing the samein differentpositions. Figs. 3 to 11,

inclusive, are upon a larger scale than Figs. 1

and 2'.

Similar letters of reference designate correspending parts in all thegures.

A clear conception of the work to be pertions of the ma,

"A designates the longitudinal wire, in` or from which pairs of eyes a care formed at suitable intervals or distances apart.

. A designates the barbs, lwhich'are inserted through the eyes of eachpair and have their sharpened ends projecting in opposite directions.'Ihe Wire A,with its' barbs, may be used for .fencing purposes; or itmay be twisted with a second longitudinal and plain wire, A2, asshown inFig; j

Referring now to the machine, Bdesignates a bed or frame of considerablelength. At one end thereof is supported the mechanism for forming theeyes andv forming and applying the barbs, and at the other endther'eofjsa iiier or twisting device for twisting two longitudinal wires together.n'

C designates the main or driving shaft, to

which motion may be imparted by abelt pass-4,

ing around a pulley, C Y

D designates a vertical shaft receiving modcsignates a transversecounter-shaft receivvtion by bevel-wheels b from the shaft C, and E `ofswinging'slightly on the ing motion through bevel-wheels bb' from thesaid shaft G. By means of these three -shafts motion is imparted to allthe operating parts of the machine. The wire A is taken from a reel ordrum, c, at one end of the machine, and is drawn forward between twowheels or rollers, d d, which have their peri pheries grooved to form achannel for the wire. These wheels or roll'ers serve to direct the wireas it is drawn off different points in the length of the drum, and alsoto produce a friction or tension to hold the wire back. They may hc'madeto grasp the wire more or less tightly by adjusting-screws applied totheir bearingsl in a wellunderstood manner.

E designatesa feed wheel or roller,whieh is secured upon a rotary shaft,d', and has aperipherical groove, in which the wire A rests. The shaft dhas secured upon it a ratchetwheel, di, with which engages a pawl, d.

, This pawl is carried by a crank-pin, (Z, onthe end of the shaft E, andby it a stcp-by-step rotary motion is imparted to the wheel or roller E.A stop-pawl, d, engaging with the ratchet-wheel (F, prevents backward orreturn movement of the feed-wheel E. In the pcriphery of the feed-wheelE arc notches d, which are placed at a distance apart equal to thedistance between the barbs A', and the notches engage with the barbs and,serve as teeth to draw the wire forward positively after the barbs aresecured to it.

Between the di reeti ng wheels or rollers d d and the feed-wheel E isarranged the apparatus for forming the pairs of eyes a a and for formingthe barbs and seem-in f them in said pairs of'eyes. The mechanism torbending the wire A to form the eyesa is represented in Figs. l and 2,and upon a larger scale in detail in Figs.I 5, (l, 8,9, 10, and 11.

Upon the vertical shaft Dis fixed a gear whccl,c, -and upon the looselyful'crumed a frame,

spursame shaft is which is capable shaft in a horizoncomposed of uppertal plane. This frame is and lower arms, e c, which are connected by arod, c". In the arms e c'l is journaled a rotary shaft or spindle, F,which has x'cd or formed upon its upper end a disk, F, that ro- -tateswith it. This disk may be considered as a part of the shaft, for it' theshaft were large enough no disk would be necessary. The shaft orspindleF is hollow, as shown in Fig. 5, and within it is a rod and downwardwithin it. The rodqc passes through a nut or plug, e5, screwe'd into thelower end ofthe hollow shaft F, and' near its'upper end is a collar orhead, @"from which two pins, ci, project upward through and above thedisk F. The two pins form a twisting-fork, and their distance apart isjust equal tothe distance apart of the cyesa of each pair. The rod t" isnormally picssed upward, so as to hold its pins c7 above the surface ofthe rotary disk F" by a Spring, e, in the hollow shaft F, which bears atone end on the 'collar or head or 'plung(n,- e', which is made to. rotate w1th1t,but1sfrec toslide slightly upward c and `at the other endupon the nut or plug e". Upon the lower end of the rod c' is a flange orcollar, e, on the upper side of which is a 7o projection, cl", and inthe circular path described by this projection is a fixed cam, c,

on the lower arm, ci. Once during each .rotation of the shaft F and diskF' the projection ew comes in contact with the fixed cam e and 75 drawsthe rod e* down suiiciently to shcathe the pins ci ortwisting-forkb'elow the upper surface of the rotary disk F. Immediately on theprojection c passing the cam c, the spring d* again raises the rod e"and projects its pills So above the surface of the disk F.

Upon the hollow shaft F is secured a spurwheel, c"-',\vliieh gears intoand receives motion` from t-he wheel c on the shaft D. These wheelsbeing of the same size, the shaft C, the shaft F5 1 and the shaft F andtwisting-disk F all rotate in unison.

Upon 'the upper surface of thcdisk Farc two inclined projections, e, andon the periphery ofthe disk is a projection or cam-like lug, c, 9o thepurpose of which will be hereinafter described.

XVhcn the pins eT are projected upward by the spring c", they are insuch a'position that they straddle the wire A, or receive said wire 95between them, and as they move with the rotary disk they come againstopposite sides of the wire, as shown in Fig. 8, and bend it. Fig. 10shows the wi re after the bending operation has progressed considerably.Fig.l 9 1c. shows the wire after the bending,r operation has progressedstill more, and Fig. 1l shows the wire alter the bending operation isalmost completed and shortly before the vpins e7 are drawn down bytheaction of the pro- 105 jection eo'on the cam c". Before the pins aredrawn downhowever, the eyes a. a are brought into position opposite eachother and in a line directly across the wire, as shown by the Icompletedpairs of eyes a o, Figs. S no and 9. \Vhen the two uncomplcted. eyes arebrought into the position shown in Fig. 9, it is necessary to raise thewire before and behind the pins, so that the eyes will be carried undersuch portions of the wire, and this is 1x5 effected by the inclinedprojections c, which are, shown in Figs. 6 and 9 as in action, and whichraise the wire up, so that the incomplete eyes pass under it. W'hcn thebending operation to form the eyes is just` about to eon1. 12o mence,and the pins e7 are in the position shown,l in Fig. 8,. the inclinedprojecticmscipass firstI under the wire. This is not objectionable,although it serves no useful purpose; but it is unavoidable, because twoprojections set diax25, metrically opposite to each other are used.lJust as the eye-formi ng operation is completed and they two eyes arebrought into a line direct! y across the wire, the pills c -are drawndown out of the eyes which they have formed, x30 and at this instant thefeed of the wire commences, and it is drawn forward to carry the pair ofeyes beyond the disk F', and to bring a fresh portion 'of the wire inposition. to be I escom 3 .wire is required in forming the pairs ofeyes,

and as the wire in advance ot' the pins kL7 is firmly held by thefccd'wheelll, it cannot beA drawn back. lThe Surplus, therefore, mustall come from the portion of wire behind the pins cpthat is, from thereel c. The pins c7 draw, lmwever, from both directions, and hence itisnecessary that the mechanism for tbrniingthe eyes should be movedbodilyforward a dis' tance equal to halt the surplus required. .lheswinging frame c c" e, on which the shaft F is ,journaled,provides forsuch forward moyement of the eye-forming` mechanism, and ll produce suchforward increment and return movements by means of a wheel,` c, gearingwi-th the wheel c, journaled. on astud `lined in the frame li, andcarrying a crank-pin, e",whieh is connected by a link, e, with the rod cof the swinging frame. The said frame is therefore ibrated siightlyforward and back\\"ard,whilc the shaft F and disk l1" are rotated. Aftereach pair of eyes are formed, the wire A is fed forward by the wheel E adistance, su llieient to bring the' pair of .eyes last formed oppositethe mechanism for forming; and inserting the barbs A', which I will nextdescribe.

'lhe barbs A are `formed from a wire, A, which is taken from a reel ordrum, f, at the side of the machine, and passes between feedrollers j",which are g ared together by wheels .sand feed it forward ina directiontransverse totlieline ofimwement ofthe wire A. Cihefeed-A rollers f maybe nmde togfrasp the wire with sutiieient tightness by means ofadjusting:- scrowsfupplied to the'bearing's of one ofthe rollers, asshown in Fie. 4. Upon the shaft ofone of the rollers is aratchet-w heel,f", and designates a pawl which is formed upon or attached to :ineceentric-rod, (i, which is ciproented by an' eccentric, on the shaft'.O. ly the feeding-rollersj/ thowire A is moved step by step, at. eachstep n distance equal to the length of a barb. Figs. Al, 5, t,A and 7best show the mechanism for forming` and inserting' the barbs. 1

The shaft E is jonrnaled in an upwardly extending portion of the frameB, as shown in Fifi'. 4, and in across-bar or portion, B', of

this .frame is a compound punch, which consists of en inner plunger, Hand an outer annular plunger, Jti/,both arranged directly below theshaft lf). lThe frame portiou has an annular eountersunk hole or bore,g, which ref eeives the onteiplunger, ll, and the latter is maintainednormally in an elevated position, unless otherwise acted upon, by'aspring, bearing cuits upperend on a flange or shoulder, (12, on theplunger il", and at its lower end on the bottom of the eountersink whichreceives the plunger.. rlhe said outer plunger, li', has a eountersunkhole or bore, y, which receives the plunger l'l, and the hitter isnormally maintained in an eierated position by` a spring, g, bearing` atitsv upper end on a shoulder, gf,.on the plunger l l', and at it'slowerAgiving each barb sharp points at end on the bottoni of the countersinkin thev The two plungcrs can be pushedplunger H. down independently ofeach other, and are returned by the aforesaid springs.

U ionthe shaft Eisaeam h whiehaetsu on l a i and serves to depress theinner pl unger-` H, and at cach side of said cani are cams lf, which areof similar forni and act on theouter plunger, Il', to depress it.

I designates a swinpingurm fnlerumed at h above the sha'l't IC, andhaving projectionsl1", which bear on the cams Il. '-lheselatter camstherefore serre the double purpose of operating' the outer plunger, ll',and. imparting' a swinging' motion to the arm l. '.lhis arm isili thesaine vertical plane as the plungers 1I ll, and it may swing;` int o theposition shown in Fie'. 5, so that its end portion will be directlyunder the phnngers ll ll', or into Jthe position shown in Fig, ti, sothat its end will be entirely' ont of thc way of the said two plungers.The barb is bent into an inverted-U shape by a peculiar formation ol'the. lower end of the plunger ll', actin;y in conjunction with theswinging` arm l. ln the lower end of the plunger il' is formed a notch,if, which is in the same plane as the swinging` arm Landwhen theplungerlIll is pushed down, as shown in Fig. 7, it strat'ldles the pointportion 1i of the arm I, the latter being` received into the aforesaidnotch 1".

For cutting: off the'wire A, l employ shearbladesjj, the former of whichis fixed to the frame B, as shownv in Figs. 4 and 7, while the latter issecured to and moves with the plunger ii, and operates, in conjunctionwith saidv fixed blade, to cut oll'the wire diagonally, thus both ends.Nhen t-he pair of eyes d a last formed are brought forward by thefeeding: operation of lthe wire A., they are :brought directly under thecenter of the plungers H ll', and at the same time a suiiicient Ylengthof the wire A has been fed forward beyond the shear-blades cams h nowallow the swinging arm I to inoyc forward under the barlrwirc A, and theend `il of said arm isor may be inclined, as shown will readily pass`lunder ,the projecting portion of the'wire A in Figs. [i and 6, so .thatit and not strikeagainst it. The plunger H^ now descends, and its tirstfunction is to eut oit the wire A by the aetionof theblade jf upon it,in conj unetion with' the fixed bladej..

of the plunger H comes upon the cut-od' p0rtion, and,continuing itsdownward movement, bends tl e said cutoff portion down over the end 'i'o theY arm I and brings it into the former 'i' in the position whichthey occupy :it

the eoinpletion'of the bending operation. It will be understood thatthetwo limbs or ends j j to forni` a barb as shown in Fig'. 4. The.

'At the moment that the barb is cutlotthe end ,Y

vIO

of this U-shaprd barb are the same distance apart as the eyes a of eachpair in the wire A. \Vhilc the cams h still hold the plunger' `H down,they act, ou the projections Irl of the' swinging arm or former I, andmove it out- 'ai-d, so as to withdraw its point from the staple-like orU-shaped barb, and at the same time-the cam h forces down the plunger'H, so that it. presses on the top of the staple or U- shaped barb, andforces it 'downward out of.

portions, which engage and cause the spread' ers to swing or movesimultaneously, but in opposite directions. l The spreadcrs arefurnished withtbrwardlyprojecting horns or arms I; which norma-lly lieclose together. as shown iu Fig. S, and-these horns oearnis forni a restover which 'the wire A passes, and upon which the pairs of eyes come toa' stop in the position shown in Iiig'. S. are projecting lugs or ears mm', which projeet in `the cireulznpath describedgby th'cfproiection (Non'thedisk` Fi *WVliile the horns or arms l of the sprcaders .T aretogether, as shown in Fig. S, the staple-like or U-shaped barb has beendriven down into the pair of eyes t by the action ofthe plunger ll, andthe horns or arms l t'orm a bed or rest for the wire A duringtheoperation. After passing through the eyes u, the barb passes down andst raddles the horns or armsl, the ends ofthe barb heilig on oppositesides of the pair of horns. .lust at this instant, the lugl' orprojection el* on the rotary disk h" strikes the lug;` or projection inon one of the spreadcrs J, and turns the spreaders on their pivots, soas to move their horns? .in opposite directions, or spread them into theposition shown in Fig. tl, and thereby the two ends ot the. -barb A' arespread outward, so that they will project; in opposite directions.])uring this spreading operation, the plunger l l' has retained itspressure on the top of the barb, and has-prevented it from rising, as itotherwise. would do. lly this method of holding and spreading thebai'lylinake it bind in and acrossbetween the eyes and scenre. it `very:firmly in the eyes. so that it will be rigidly held and cannot shift'and become loose, as the. barbs in many kinds of barbed wire. now do.After the projection c" passes the lngr m, it strikes the lug m' andswings the spreaders .l in the opposite direction, sp as tov againbring.;v their horns together. ly this time the forward movement ofthewire A has taken place, and moved the pair of eyes wherelpon thespreader-si' in the barb is secured out; of the way and brought anotherpair of eyes into position to receive a barb. The wire having the barbssecured as described may be 'taken from the 7o feed-wheel E and reeledup, and will form aA strong and desirable fencing material. lIt may beconducted through a galvanizing-bath, and

it will be thereby galvanized throughout, even to the cut ends 0l' thebarbs. After being gal- 75 vanized, it may be twisted with the plaingalvanized wire A2.

L It is impractieablc to pass barbed-wire fenc- '5 ing i n which twolongitudinal wires are twisted together through a galvanizing-bath,becausel 8o the galvanizing metal will lodge and adhere in greatquantity to the twisted wires. Therefore the barbs in fencing ot' thischaracter have nothad their cut ends galvanized, and were liable toinjure cattle by reason of the rust 85 lodging in the scratches orwounds inflicted by them. .l am enabled to galvanize the wholewire afterthe barbs are secured, because but a single wire is employed to securethe barbs.

ln the machine here represented I have 9o shown mechanism l'or twistingthe wires AA together.

At the end of the `machine at` which the barbed wire is delivered thereis a tiier, K, n'iouuted on a hollow spindle, 'K'. On the'g5 spindle isa pinion, il, which receives motion from. a whe'eh'af, on the shaft C.'-,In the hollow spindle 1i is a shaft, lig. on the inner end -otf whichis fixed a pinion, n2.

L designates the bobbin orreel, on `which Ioo the completed twisted wireisjvound. It carries a friction-wheel, i12- which receives motion from afriction-pinion, n. The pinion n is capable of rotating on av stud withva pinion, u

of', and receives its motion by the gearing of 105 the pinion n5 with'the pinion 11". The -inner shaft, li", carries a wheel, n", which gearswith and receives motion froma pinion, nl, on theshaft C. By this'mechanism the flier is rotated to twist the wires Anf, and the reel L I1o is rotated to take up the twisted wires. The

vbarbed wire A lpasses from the feed-wheel E' under a rolleror wheel,o', tothe rollers 0'o,'.

which arc-slotted or composed of pins, and

which form a nipper, and thc'gwlre A2 passes H5,

from a rcel, o. over a roller or wheel, o, and thence to the nippcr o o.The twist takes place between thetwo guide rollers or wheels o o and therollers o e, forming the nipper. I

'hat I claim as my invention, and desire 12o to secure by Letterslatent, is

1. ln a machine forinaking barbed wire of thc kind specified; theseveral mechanisms herein describcdfor feeding the longitudinal wire forformingl pairs of eyes therefrom, for 125 bending the barbs into theform of lstaples and insel-time,` them through said pairs of eyes,andt'or spreading the ends of theharbs, all ycomy bined for operationsubstantially as herein described. 413o .l. lnla machine for makingbarbed wire of' the kind speeited, the several mechanisms hereindescribed for feeding the longitudinal wire, for forming pairs of eyestherefrom, for bending the barbs into the form Yof staples and insertingthem through the pairs of eyes, for spreading the ends of the barbs, andfor nally `twisting the longitudinal wire provided with barbs with asecond longitudinal wire, all combined for operation substantially asherein described.

3. The combination, with means for feeding the longitudinal wire stepYby step, as described, of a rotary twisting shaft and fork for formingthe pairs of eyes in said wire, a movable frame carrying said shaft andfork, and mechanism for imparting to said frame a positive movementduring the rotation of said shaft and fork, substantially as specied.

4. The combination', `with means for feeding the longitudinal wire stepby step, as Adescribed, 4of a rotary twisting shaft and fork for formingthe pairs of eyes in said wire, a frame mounted on a vertical pivot andcarrying said shaft and fork, and mechanism for imparting to said framea positive' swinging movement during the rotation of said shaft andfork, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the vertical shaft D, the wheel ethereon, thewheels e e, both gearing withfsaid wheel c, but not with each other, therotary twisting-shaft F and its fork e7, the swinging frame e e2 c3, andthe crank e16 and rod e, for swinging said frame from the wheel ef, allsubstantially as herein described.

G. The combination, with means for feeding the longitudinal wire step bystep, as described, of the rotary hollour twisting-shaft F, thetwisting-fork e7, the fork-rod e", rotating with but movablelongitudinally in said shaft,A

the spring es, and a Xcd cam on which thc lower end of said rod acts todepress said fork,

substantially as herein described.

7. The combination, with means for feedingthe longitudinal wire step bystep, as described, of a rotary twisting shaft and fork for forming thepairs of eyes, and inclined cams at the upperrend of the shaft forraising the wire above the fork,so that the uncompleted l eyes may passunder the wire, substantially as herein described.

8. The combination, with means for feeding the longitudinal wire step bystep, Vas described, of a hollow rotary twisting-shaft, a fork andfork-rod sliding in but rotating with said shaft, cams at the upper endof' said shaft for raising the wire, so that the uncompleted eyes can becarried un/der it; and devices for lowering or withdrawing the saidfork-rod to free the fork from the completed eyes, substantially asherein described.

9. The combination of the hollow shaft F, the disk F', with its inclinedprojections ew, the fork-rod e4 and pins el, the plug c5, the spring es,the projection and cam cm c, and the swinging frame 'e' e2 e3, allsubstantially as herein described. Y Y

10. The combination,with means for feeding the longitudinal wire step bystep, as described, and forming pairs of eyes therefrom, of the notchedplunger and movable former for bending the barbs into the form ofstaples, and a second plunger for pushing the staples through said pairsof eyes, substantially as herein described. l

11. The combination,with means for feeding the longitudinal wire step bystep, and for forming pairs of eyes therefrom, ofthe notched plunger andmovable former for bending the barbs into the form of staples, a secondplunger for pushing said staples into the pairs of eyes, and movablespreaders, which, when together, form a rest for the wire, substantiallyas herein described. v

12. The combination ofthe cam-shaft E,the compound punch H H', theswinging former I, and cams on said shaft for actuating the punch andthe former, substantially as herein described. j 13. The combination ofthe cam-shaft E, the compound punch H H', the swinging former l', camson said shaft for actuating the punch and the former, and shear-bladesattached one to the outer part, H', and the other to the frame,

substantially as herein described.

14. The combination ofthe cam-shaft E, the compound punch H H', theswinging former l, cams on the said shaft for actuating said punch andformer, the feed-wheel E', and devices operated bysaid shaft forimparting a step-by-step motion to said feed-wheel, substantially asherein described.

15. The combination,with means for feeding the longitudinal wire vstepby step and for bending andinserting the barbs, ofthe rotary twistingshaft and fork for forming the pairs of eyes, spreaders for the barbs,and a cam or projection carried by said shaft for actuating thespreaders, substantially as .herein described. y

16. The combination, with the'spreaders J, geared together, and providedwith horns Z and projections'm m', of the twisting-disk F', carrying thefork e7, and the projection e, for acting on the said spreaders,substantially as herein described.l

17 rlhe combination, with the spreaders J, of the plunger H, and a camfor forcing down the plunger and holding it down on the staples duringthe operation ofthe spreaders, substantially as herein described.

THEODORE A.

IOG

IIO

